Rise of the Defender (95 page)

     Edward's eyes were huge with surprise and
he bolted to his feet, his mouth opening but Christopher held up a silencing
hand. Edward caught himself before he spoke, answering Christopher with a broad
smile and a quiet handshake. Christopher tore his eyes from his wife long
enough to look his knight over, seeing the man had not regained the weight he
had lost from his infirmary, but appearing healthy enough. He motioned Edward
away with a nod of his head.

     Dustin was busy doing something he could
not see. The monkey sat atop the garden wall, screaming at Christopher as he
approached Dustin, and he thought for sure the little beast had ruined his
surprise. But Dustin ignored the monkey.

     “Shut up, George,” she snapped. “You are so
damn loud.”

     Christopher grinned, sneaking up behind his
wife and drinking in the sight of her. A few feet in front of her, Alexander
rose from his crouch and wagged his tail at Christopher. Yet Dustin was still
focused on the bush in front of her.

      “Edward, is it time for the nooning meal
yet? I think the animals are hungry,” she said. Receiving no answer, she turned
her head. “Edward?”

     The first thing she saw was a pair of legs.
Massive, tall, armored legs. Startled, she jerked her head up to see who it
was.

     Christopher smiled back at her. “Greetings,
wife.”

     Dustin's mouth fell open; stunned was an
understatement. She thought she was daydreaming, but when he laughed softly at
her astonishment, she seemed to snap out of her trance.

     “Chris?” she gasped. “My God... is it
really you?”

     “Aye, Lady de Lohr, in the flesh.” He put
his hands on his hips. “What? No feverish kisses? No screaming or jumping? 'Tis
most unlike you to be so calm.”

     Tears filled her eyes and she threw the
basket off her lap onto the ground, dumping the flowers it held. As she
struggled to her feet, it was Christopher's turn to be immensely surprised. The
first thing his eyes fell on was her rounded belly.

     “Dustin!” he gasped in shock. “You are
pregnant.”

     She was on her feet, her arms going about
him tightly. He responded to her fiercely, pulling her to him but in the same
breath remembering her delicate condition. He had thought to surprise her by
his unannounced arrival but it would seem that the joke was on him.

     He held her so reverently, listening to her
soft sobs, unbelievable happiness filling him. His hands stroked her
magnificent hair, her back, his lips kissing her with utter sweetness. It was a
long while before either one could speak as their mutual surprise settled.

     “Are you all right, sweetheart?” He held
her face in his huge hands. “Christ, I cannot believe… I am astonished.
Thrilled and astonished.”

     She smiled at him, kissing him a few times
before answering. “I hoped you would be,” she said softly. “I could only hope
that you would return home before your son was born.”

     His eyebrows flew up. “You thought not to
tell me before that time?”

     She grinned, wiping at her eyes. “I would
have told you.”

     His hands moved over her rounded belly,
amazed. Her first pregnancy had ended before her stomach had enlarged and he
was seriously delighted to feel the firm curve of her stomach.

     Dustin watched his face, his expression so
completely astounded, and laughed softly at his reaction.

     “Aye, there is a baby in there,” she told
him. “The village has a new midwife since Rebecca's mother was killed. She
comes every day to visit me.”

     He shook his head faintly, still caressing
her belly. “My God, I still cannot believe it,” he breathed. “A baby.”

     “A son,” Dustin said firmly, touching his
face and he kissed her hand. “Oh, Chris, I cannot believe you’re actually here.
Why did not you send word to me?”

     He shrugged. “Because I did not want to
take the time to send the missive. I simply wanted to come.” He pulled her to
him again, so completely worshipful of her. “I missed you terribly, Dustin.
There was not a day or an hour that passed that I did not think of you, and
wondered how you were.”

     “I thought about you all day and all
night,” she rubbed her stomach. “It was hard not to.”

     He grinned, kissing her happily. “Do you
feel well?”

     She made a face. “Better than I did. But I
still cannot eat mutton. It makes me gag. And I cannot even look at raw meat.”

     He laughed. “Then I will order that no raw
meat be anywhere within your proximity.” He suddenly lifted her high above him
as if she were no more than a feather's weight.

     “I am to have a child!” he bellowed.

     Dustin laughed, bracing her hands on his
huge shoulders as he brought her down to kiss her and then lowered her
completely to the ground, afraid he had jostled her too much with his
excitement. He helped her straighten her dress.

     “Did I hurt you?” he asked rather
anxiously. “I am sorry; I should not have done that.”

     She sighed with mock irritation, eyeing
him. “Are we to go through this again? Lord, Chris, I shall not break. Edward
wants to do everything but walk for me, and he is driving me mad. If I have two
of you to deal with, I shall scream.”

     He had no sympathy for her. “Not only two,
but nine. I brought all of my knights with me and I can promise you, Lady de
Lohr, that you will want for nothing.” He hugged her happily. “You shall be
lucky if your feet touch the ground at all.”

     She batted at him playfully. “Untrue, my
lord. I will do my own walking, thank you. And I want no nervous men following
me about.”

     “I am afraid it goes without saying,” he
said, kissing her cheek. “When is the child due?”

     “The midwife believes around my birthday,
the first of December,” she said.

     He looked thoughtful. “That would stand to
reason considering the last we made love was the beginning of February.”

     She shook her head. “You keep track of
these things as well as I do,” she said. “I have never heard of a husband who
remembered details so very well.”

     “I remember everything.” His voice suddenly
went seductive and Dustin felt chills of desire run through her. “I look
forward to this eve, wife, when I can inspect every inch of your luscious body
in private.”

     “As do I.” She wound her arms around his
neck as he buried his face in her shoulder. “Lord, Chris, I have dreamed about
you for so long.”

     “I know of your dreams,” he teased. “Erotic
and highly real. Yet they cannot compare to real life.”

     He meant her episode with Marcus so many
months back and her smile faded. She had completely forgotten about Marcus
Burton until that very moment and now, she felt sick again.  The guilt, the
horror, washed over her again as if it had never left, but she struggled to put
it aside. She didn’t want anything dampening his homecoming. Not even memories
of Marcus.

     “Take me inside,” she said softly, her mood
spoiling. “I would greet your warriors home.”

     His arm about her waist protectively, they
went inside with George and Alex in tow. Inside the grand hall, the knights had
gathered and were talking loudly over ale and cheese. When they saw Dustin, those
who had not seen her since her pregnancy crowed with delight and congratulated
Christopher on his virility. He grinned at them, waving them off as he and
Dustin sat at the table.

     Dustin’s somber mood quickly fled as life
was once again breathed back into Lioncross’ great hall. To hear the familiar
voices again, to listen to the camaraderie, was pure pleasure and Dustin
realized how much she had missed it. Even Christopher had a few stories to tell
and she listened with great interest. And as soon as he started to speak in his
deep, rich voice, the little life inside of her began kicking fiercely.

     “Give me your hand,” she demanded, quieting
all of them. She placed Christopher's huge hand over her stomach and smiled
broadly as he felt his child move for the first time.

     Christopher's face lit up like a bank of
Christmas candles. His mouth opened with surprise as he indeed felt his child
kick violently in Dustin's stomach. The babe was extremely active and Dustin
grabbed David's hand and put it next to his brother's.

     “Jesus,” David exclaimed, feeling the
thumping. “What power! Does it hurt?”

     She shook her head. “Of course not. But it
is very bothersome when he does it in the middle of the night.”

     “Does he do this often?” Christopher asked,
still in awe.

     “All of the time,” she said wearily.

     “Get you hand off my wife,” Christopher
growled at his brother, then his tone went immediately sweet again. “Are you
sure it doesn't hurt? He is amazingly strong.”

     “He is like his father,” Dustin's eyes
twinkled.

     Christopher removed his hand from her belly
and took her hand, kissing it. His eyes never left her face.

     The conversation resumed around them, but
they were lost to the world. They could only see and feel each other. The
conversation between them was quiet and private until Christopher finally rose
and excused them both. He would wait no longer to get her alone.

     Dustin was as giddy as a new bride as he
took her up to the chamber he had occupied before leaving for London. He was
not surprised to see that she had moved all of her personal belongings into
them, as he had told her he would do when he returned.

     He smiled and sat her down in a
hide-covered chair. “Now, I would get a good look at you without all of those
infatuated schoolboys hanging about,” he said softly, moving to remove his
armor.

     Dustin saw what he was doing and stood up
again. “Let me help you.”

     “Nay, sweetheart, I will do this alone,” he
waved her off. “I left Darren in London to visit with his mother and I forbid
you to take his place.”

     “But I have helped you with your armor on
numerous occasions,” she insisted.

     “But you were not carrying my babe on those
occasions,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. His breastplate clattered to the
floor and he pulled off his tunic, moving to his hauberk. “How have things been
around here?”

     “Well,” she said, watching him with his leg
armor. “Jeffrey has been keeping the collections from the border revenues in
some secret place; he wouldn't even tell me. He said that only you would know
their location and worth. And the village has been peaceful.”

     “No raids?” he asked.

     “Not since I have been home,” she replied.
“Strange; the Welsh seemed to have stopped their aggressions altogether. The
merchants and travelers that come over the border have been very friendly and
honest.”

     “How would you know?” he looked at her in
the process of removing his tunic. “You haven't been out carousing the village
in your condition, have you?”

     Her chin jutted up. “I have gone into the
village a few times, husband. I have always taken Jeffrey or Max or Anthony
with me, as you requested.”

     He frowned. “They know better than to allow
you to roam about and tire yourself. I will have to have a talk with them.”

     “You shall do nothing of the sort,” she
said firmly. “They had no choice in the matter; I was going with or without
them.”

     His look was most reproachful as the tunic
hit the floor. “You are most obstinate, Lady de Lohr. Now that I am home,
things will be as they should.”

     She suddenly smiled up at him. “Say it
again.”

     “What? That things shall be as they should?
Or that you are obstinate?”

     “Nay,” she said softly. “Lady de Lohr.”

     He met her smile, sinking to his knees in
front of her and enveloping her and the chair with his massive arms. “Lady de
Lohr,” he whispered. “The Lady Dustin Mary Catherine Barringdon de Lohr.”

     She giggled and ran her hands through his
blond hair, tracing his features and reacquainting herself with his thick face.

     “I am so glad you are back,” she whispered.
“Do you have any new scars to report to me before I find them and become
upset?”

     He looked as thoughtful as he could under
her silk touch, paying more attention to her hands than to her question.
“Scars?” he repeated. “A few, mostly on my arms and one on my leg. Nothing
terrible.”

     “Then you were not wounded severely in any
way?” she pressed, ceasing to stroke his head and pulling his left arm in front
of her where she could inspect it.

     He flipped his wrist over so she could
inspect a two-inch scar on the underside of his thick forearm. “I got that when
my horse disobeyed a command, damnable beast. But in answer to your question -
no, I was not severely wounded in any way. Edward was the only knight in my
command to be severely wounded.”